Jan Frans Vonck

Jan Frans Vonck (29 November 1743-1 December 1792) was a Belgian lawyer and one of the leaders of the Brabant Revolution of 1789.

Biography
Jan Frans Vonck was born in Baardegem, Flanders, Austrian Netherlands on 29 November 1743. He worked as a lawyer before the Brabant Revolution broke out in 1789, and he championed the liberal camp within the revolutionary cause. He became rivals with fellow revolutionary Hendrik Van der Noot, who favored the restoration of old privileges for the upper class, and he also sought to pass reforms rather than create a "National Assembly". Vonck's "Vonckist" faction supported the abolition of the feudal government of the state based on privileges in favor of a centralized government, and he was forced into exile by Van der Noot. He fled to France, where he died in 1792.